2016
Newsletter essay, What’s new
CHE Needs Your Support to Provide Science You Can Count On
By Elise Miller, MEd
"One cannot be concerned just with civil rights. It is very nice to drink milk at an unsegregated lunch counter—but not when there's strontium-90 in it."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
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We're delighted to announce that a very generous CHE partner, who wishes to remain anonymous, has offered to match donations to CHE up to a total of $2500 if they're made by December 31st! Please donate now and double your contribution to CHE so we can continue to bring you uncompromised science for a healthier future for all! |
Martin Luther King, Jr., was a systems thinker. He knew our health is impacted by all kinds of interacting factors—from racism to toxic exposures. He made clear that we can't fight to eradicate one concern without addressing multiple others if we're ultimately going to have a just and healthy society for all.
At CHE we are trying in our own way to live into his visionary thinking. Our new website uniquely reflects this systems approach to health. We make explicit that social determinants of health—such as racial injustices and poverty—are inextricably linked to all the environments that influence our life trajectory, starting at conception. As the science becomes more sophisticated at investigating complex interactions, we want to ensure it is accessible to anyone concerned with implementing more effective upstream interventions—whether that's on a global level or in your own home.
Dr. King also knew the value of courageously resisting forces that undermine the well-being of all. In the current political climate, science is under siege. There are strong pressures to defund critical studies and to dismiss the best available research. The progress that's been made in recent years to address environmental health injustices through community-based participatory research and to use uncompromised science to provide the basis for health-protective policy and market changes is now at risk.
In response, CHE partners tell us they need CHE to help resist this trend. They emphasize that our multiple educational forums and publications provide the essential basis for thoughtful analysis of the science and its implications for our health. And they rightly encourage us to take bolder steps to ensure uncompromised science is not sidelined, but instead translated into effective, practical action to improve all lives—particularly vulnerable populations.
To do this, CHE in turn really needs your help. We are running a deficit this year we can't sustain. We need to develop a solid donor base of CHE partner support. Please give us what you would spend on a coffee date or a haircut. Ask yourself what CHE means in your life and help us build this unique global partnership. Having access to uncompromised science is critical to humanity's future. Even the smallest contribution makes a real difference.
With deep gratitude for any gift you can make,
Elise Miller
P.S. As CHE transitions to exciting new leadership in 2017 [see our blog], we are committed to infusing our strategies and services with Dr. King's vision. Please donate now. Your children and theirs will thank you.
